The Los Angeles Dodgers beat up Nathan for three runs in the ninth inning Wednesday night to send the game to extra innings before Martinez hit a solo home run in the 10th inning to help the Tigers to a 7-6 win.

Martinez smacked a 2-2 pitch from Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen over the wall in right field to break the 6-6 tie. It was his second home run this season.

Joe Nathan

The Tigers led 6-3 when Nathan entered the game to start the bottom of the ninth. Adrian Gonzalez greeted Nathan with a home run that was estimated at 437 feet to cut the Dodgers' deficit to two runs. Nathan then issued back-to-back walks to Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, and Juan Uribe singled to load the bases with no outs.

Yasiel Puig entered the game as a pinch hitter and struck out for the first out of the inning. But pinch hitter Scott Van Slyke grounded into a fielder's choice to make it 6-5, and Dee Gordon laced a single to right field to tie the game.

Nathan said in a radio interview Wednesday that he has been struggling with a dead arm, but then expressed a lack of concern over the issue when approached by media members prior to the game.

"It's not an injury," Nathan said. "It's something that every pitcher goes through every year. It's not even newsworthy, so you guys shouldn't even waste your time writing about dead arm, because it's basically like knowing there's second base on the field."

The Tigers trailed 3-2 with two outs in the third when Martinez got a rally started with a single. Austin Jackson followed with a line-drive double to left field that kicked up chalk when it landed on the foul line and bounded into the seats in foul territory for a ground-rule double. Nick Castellanos followed by hitting the first pitch from Dodgers starter Josh Beckett for a three-run home run, his first home run in the majors.

Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez struggled on the mound early but recovered to salvage a decent start and also helped himself out at the plate. After shortstop Alex Gonzalez reached on a two-out error in the second inning, Sanchez laced an RBI double to the gap in right-center to drive home Gonzalez and tie the score at 2-2.

Sanchez was not the only pitcher to knock in a run. The Dodgers called for a suicide squeeze bunt play with Beckett facing a 3-2 pitch from Sanchez with one out in the second inning. Beckett executed the bunt perfectly as Juan Uribe raced home from third base to give the Dodgers a 3-2 lead.

Tigers' highlights -- Ian Kinsler helped the Tigers scratch out a run in the top of the first inning. Kinsler reached on a single, stole second and -- after a walk to Miguel Cabrera -- stole third. Kinsler raced home to make it 1-0 on a sacrifice fly to left field by Martinez.

-- It seemed likely that the Dodgers would test the arm of Martinez, who was making his first start of the season at catcher. They tested it early. Dee Gordon led off the bottom of the first inning with a single, but he was gunned down by Martinez on a perfectly timed pitchout. Gunning Gordon down saved the Tigers a run as Carl Crawford followed with a ground-rule double to left field.

-- The Tigers finished the game with three stolen bases: two by Kinsler and one by Rajai Davis. Davis was also thrown out trying to steal in the sixth inning.

-- Kinsler advanced to second on a wild pitch in the seventh inning and ended up on third on a throwing error by Dodgers catcher Tim Federowicz. He scored to make it 6-3 on a sacrifice fly by Austin Jackson.

-- Tyler Collins had an infield single to lead off the eighth inning for his first career hit.

-- Drew Smyly faced the minimum nine batters while throwing three innings of shutout relief in place of Sanchez.

Tigers' lowlights -- The Dodgers got on the board in the bottom of the first inning. With runners on first and third, the Dodgers pulled a double steal to tie the score at 1-1. Crawford scored easily from third base as the throw from Martinez to second went into the outfield. Hanley Ramirez was credited with a steal of second base and went to third on the error by Martinez.

-- Later in the first inning, Ramirez was running on contact and scored easily when Tigers shortstop Alex Gonzalez couldn't cleanly field a ground ball on the infield. Adrian Gonzalez was credited with an infield single and an RBI on the play.

-- A passed ball charged to Martinez allowed Uribe to move from first to second base in the second inning. Uribe eventually scored -- the run was unearned -- on the suicide squeeze by Beckett.

-- The Tigers loaded the bases with one out in the fifth inning, but Collins grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Game notes -- The RBI double by Sanchez was his first hit since July 17, 2012, and his first RBI since May 31, 2011.

-- Both pitchers made early exits. Beckett allowed five runs -- four earned -- on five hits and one walk in four innings pitched. He struck out five and hit Davis with a pitch. Sanchez allowed three runs -- just one of them earned -- in five innings. He allowed six hits, walked one and struck out six.

-- Sanchez threw 63 pitches through two innings yet managed to extend his outing to five innings. He threw 110 pitches, 68 for strikes. The first two innings of the game took 1 hour, seven minutes.